Adapting data quality rules based upon user application requirements

ABSTRACT

During application of data quality rules to a data set obtained from a data source, data is retrieved from the data source along with a common set of rules configured to format the retrieved data in a manner in accordance with one or more predefined data quality rules of the common set of rules. At least one predefined data quality rule is adjusted utilizing at least one editable widget to form a modified set of data quality rules adapted for use with a specified application. The modified set of data quality rules is applied to the retrieved data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/173,371, entitled “ADAPTING DATA QUALITY RULES BASED UPON USERAPPLICATION REQUIREMENTS”, filed Jun. 30, 2011, the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Embodiments of the invention relate to establishing rules for dataquality when extracting data from one or more data sources.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

When loading data from one or more data sources into a system for use inan application, the data must typically undergo some sort of dataquality analysis and/or data cleansing to ensure the data is suitablefor use with the application. Data quality requirements for the samedata can differ based upon a particular application which will use thedata (e.g., different clients and/or different departments of a clientmay have different requirements for data quality). However, whilecertain general data quality rules can be established that ensure datais provided having a certain format, the rules are typically set andestablished by logic associated with the application or at a systemsource that extracts data from a data source. To change some or all ofthe data quality rules typically requires a change in an application orsource system code. Because of this, data quality rules typically cannotbe modified at run time, but instead need to be evaluated during a dataprocessing cycle, with changes only being made after the processingcycle.

Since specific rules that apply to one application may differ foranother application, it is difficult to ensure precise data quality fora number of applications retrieving data from one or more data sources.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In an example embodiment of the present invention, acomputer-implemented method is provided for applying data quality rulesto a data set obtained from at least one data source. The methodcomprises retrieving data from the at least one data source along with acommon set of rules configured to format the retrieved data in a mannerin accordance with one or more predefined data quality rules of thecommon set of rules, adjusting at least one predefined data quality ruleutilizing at least one editable widget to form a modified set of dataquality rules adapted for use with a specified application, and applyingthe modified set of data quality rules to the retrieved data.

In another example embodiment of the present invention, a system isprovided for applying data quality rules to a data set obtained from atleast one data source. The system comprises a source system to retrievedata from the at least one data source along with a common set of rulesconfigured to format the retrieved data in a manner in accordance withone or more predefined data quality rules of the common set of rules,and a client to receive the retrieved data and common set of rules fromthe source system. The client includes a widget module comprising atleast one editable widget and the client is further configured withlogic to: adjust at least one predefined data quality rule utilizing theat least one editable widget to form a modified set of data qualityrules adapted for use with a specified application of the client, andapply the modified set of data quality rules to the retrieved data.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention, a computerprogram product is provided for applying data quality rules to a dataset obtained from at least one data source. The computer program productcomprises a computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therewith. The computer readable program codeconfigured to receive data retrieved from the at least one data sourcealong with a common set of rules configured to format the retrieved datain a manner in accordance with one or more predefined data quality rulesof the common set of rules, adjust at least one predefined data qualityrule utilizing at least one editable widget to form a modified set ofdata quality rules adapted for use with a specified application, andapply the modified set of data quality rules to the retrieved data.

The above and still further features and advantages of embodiments ofthe present invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description thereof, particularly when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like referencenumerals in the various figures are utilized to designate likecomponents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an example embodiment of asystem for retrieving data that implements data quality rules that areadjustable on an individual basis in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 depicts GUI images of example widgets for use in adapting dataquality rules for a particular client application based upon applicationand/or user specifications.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the manner in which a widget isgenerated according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing application of data quality rulesto a set of data for generating a widget according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of the system of FIG. 1,including the manner in which a widget is customized to adapt a set ofgeneric data quality rules for use with a client application accordingto an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts a GUI image associated with a widget that allows formodification/customization of data quality rules associated with thewidget according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Present invention embodiments provide for the application of dataquality rules to a data set obtained from a data source. Data isretrieved from the data source along with a common set of rulesconfigured to format the retrieved data in a manner in accordance withone or more predefined data quality rules of the common set of rules. Atleast one predefined data quality rule is adjusted utilizing at leastone editable widget to form a modified set of data quality rules adaptedfor use with a specified application, and the modified set of dataquality rules is applied to the retrieved data. The inventionembodiments facilitate the modification or customization of a common setof data quality rules for each different application that may beutilized for different client systems.

An example embodiment of a system that implements features of thepresent invention is depicted in FIG. 1. The system includes a pluralityof clients 2, 4 that access data from one or more data sources 6, 8, 10through a source system, referred to in FIG. 1 as a data quality rulesdatabase 12. While only two clients 2, 4 and three data sources 6, 8, 10are shown in FIG. 1, it is noted that this is a simple representationand the system is not limited to this number. Instead, any suitablenumber of clients and data sources can be provided for the system. Thequality rules database 12 is configured to retrieve or extract data fromthe data sources 6, 8, 10 based upon a query for data from a client 2, 4and provide the data to the client requesting such data (e.g., via anysuitable extract, transfer and load process). The database 12 furtherincludes any suitable number of different types or sets of common orgeneric data quality rules that apply uniform rules to the data basedupon a selected rule type prior to providing the data to the clientmaking the query. The common set of rules includes rules that are fixedand applicable to extracting and formatting data in the same manner foreach client requesting such data from the data sources.

The clients 2, 4, data quality rules database 12 and data sources 6, 8,10 may be remote from each other and communicate (as indicated by thearrows between different system components as shown in FIG. 1) via adirect connection or any suitable network. For example, a network can beimplemented to facilitate transfer any types of data and/or otherinformation between two or more system components utilizing any suitablecommunications media (e.g., wide area network (WAN), local area network(LAN), Internet, Intranet, etc.). Alternatively, one or more of theclients 2, 4, data quality rules database 12 and data sources 6, 8, 10may be local to each other, and communicate via any appropriate localcommunication medium (e.g., local area network (LAN), hardwire, wirelesslink, Intranet, etc.). Further, the any two or more of the clients 2, 4,data quality rules database 12 and data sources 6, 8, 10 and migrationdatabase 4 can be implemented as sub-components within a single systemcomponent.

Each of the clients 2, 4, data quality rules database 12 and datasources 6, 8, 10 may be implemented by any conventional or othercomputer systems which can be equipped with a display or monitor toprovide a graphical user or other interface (e.g., to provide commandline prompts, widget and/or other menu screens, etc.) to solicitinformation from users pertaining to the desired data and analysis, abase (e.g., including the processor, memories and/or internal orexternal communications devices (e.g., modem, network cards, etc.)),optional input devices (e.g., a keyboard, mouse or other input device),and any commercially available and/or custom software (e.g.,server/communications software, analysis and/or other types of modules,browser/interface software, etc.).

The data quality rules database includes a data quality rules module 14from which a common set of data quality rules can be applied to dataretrieved from the data sources prior to the data being provided to aclient. The data quality rules module 14 can include a selected numberof different sets of pre-defined data quality rules to apply to databased upon the requirements for a particular application and/orparticular columns of data or data records that are retrieved based upona data query. Data quality rules can be any series of logical operationsto be performed on the data, such as constraints to be applied to thedata or actions to be taken on the data (e.g., modifications to the databased upon a condition being met within a rule). In an exampleembodiment, a data string from a column of data for a record obtainedfrom a table within a data source may include a name (e.g., businessmanager name, contact name, etc.) such as “MR SMITH JOHN HAROLD”. Aparticular rule may be selected from data quality rules module 14 thatseparates the data from the string into different categories, such as:

(1) Title: MR

First Name: JOHN

Middle Name: HAROLD

Last Name: SMITH

In another example, a string from a column in a table of a data sourcemay be a series of numbers, such as ‘1234567890123’, that designates acountry code, a region, a city, a data type and a data code (e.g.,representing information about accounts within a particular city). Arule from the data quality rules module 14 might separate the data fromthe string into the following different categories for use by aparticular application:

(2) Country Code (3 digits)-Region (2 digits)-City (3 digits)-Type (1digit)-Account Code (5 digits): 132-34-567-8-9101234

The data quality rules database 12 applies one or more rules from thedata quality rules module 14 to the data obtained from one or more ofthe data sources 6, 8, 10 and provides such data (with data stringsseparated into the different categories based upon the requirements ofthe data rules) to a client making a query. For example, client 2includes an application App1 (20), while client 4 includes a differentapplication App2 (24). Either client may be requesting data from one ormore of the data sources 6, 8, 10 utilizing database 12. The same set ofdata quality rules provided in the data quality rules module 14 may beapplied to the same types of data requested by each client 2, 4.

However, the application App1 (20) for client 2 may require data to beprovided in formats that are slightly revised or modified from thegeneral or common rules format applied by the data quality rules of thedata quality rules module 14, In addition, the application App2 (24) forclient 4 may also have format requirements that are slightly differentfrom App1 and also that are slightly revised in relation to the commonrules format applied by data quality rules of the module 14. Inscenarios in which there are multiple clients and/or multipleapplications that have slightly different or modified requirements fordata formats to be applied to data received from data sources, itbecomes a difficult task to provide a complete set of data rules thatcan anticipate every possible format type that may be required for anapplication or a user that is working with the application to processdata from the data sources.

As an example scenario, consider example (1) above, in which the datarules may separate a name string such as “MR SMITH JOHN HAROLD” into acommon format for use by various client applications. In this scenario,there may be a number of different client applications that require thename string to be in different formats for utilization by theapplication. For example, one application might require the name stringto be in the following format: “Mr John Harold SMITH”; anotherapplication might require the name string to be in the following format:“John Smith”; still another application might require the name string tobe in the following format: “Mr. Smith”; a further application mightrequire the name string to be in the following format: “John H. Smith”.

In another example scenario, consider example (2) above, in which thedata rules may separate a number data string, such as “1234567890123”,into a common format including different categories as noted in example(2). Different client applications may also require further differencesin the format. For example, one application might require the stringformat to be Region-City-Type-Code (e.g., 34-567-8-901234), where thecountry code is removed; another application might require the stringformat to be only the code (e.g., 901234); still another applicationmight require only the city information (e.g., 567).

The common set of data quality rules are predefined rules that areapplied by a source system (such as the data quality rules database 12in the system of FIG. 1) or utilizing the logic implemented by a clientapplication. However, such rules cannot be easily modified or adaptedwithout changing the source code at the source system or for theapplication. This can be a tedious and time consuming task anytime amodification may be desired or required for a particular clientapplication that uses the data retrieved from the data sources.

In accordance with the invention embodiments, each client is providedwith one or more graphical user interface (GUI) elements or widgets thatallow a client user to fine tune or adapt the rules for the applicationto be used and/or based upon changing client application requirementsand/or user preferences or specifications. Referring again to FIG. 1,client 2 includes a GUI widget module 22 including a plurality ofwidgets configured to further tailor or adapt the rules to be applied todata received from the data quality rules database 12 in accordance withclient requirements for the application App1 (20). Client 4 alsoincludes a GUI widget module 26 including a plurality of widgets thatperform the same function for App2 (24).

The widgets of widget modules 22, 26 comprise GUI menus that include anysuitable types of adjustable control objects including, withoutlimitation, toggle on/off buttons, check boxes, selectable menus and/oricons, fillable fields, etc. that facilitate making manipulations oradjustments to the data received from the database 12 which furtheradapts the data for use with the client application based upon userspecifications. Thus, the widgets allow for further editing andadaptation of the common set of rules to be applied to the dataretrieved by the data sources based upon the client application and/oruser requirements for a specific scenario.

As noted above, the data quality rules database 12 of the system can beconfigured to apply rules to data records retrieved or extracted fromone or more data sources 6, 8, 10 utilizing data quality rules obtainedfrom module 14 prior to transfer of such data to a client. It is furthernoted that the system can also be configured such that the data qualityrules database 12 provides data records retrieved from one or more datasources along with a common set of data quality rules from module 14 toa client, where the client then applies the data quality rules asadapted by a widget for use by a client application. For example, awidget can be configured to include information associated with the dataobtained from one or more data sources, including metadata, and also thecommon set of data quality rules associated with the data which areprovided by the data quality module 14 of the database 12, such that thewidget applies the rules to the data.

Example embodiments of widgets that can be used to adapt a common set ofrules for an application are depicted in FIG. 2. The widgets depicted inFIG. 2 are associated with data entities (where a data entity isassociated with a series of records in the same entity category, e.g.,products, customers, employees, etc.), and each entity widget isassociated with identified columns of a data table that are of interestand include data to be formatted in a certain manner for use with aclient application. For example, a Product Entity Widget 30 (which isassociated with product data) and a Customer Entity Widget 40 (which isassociated with customer data) are depicted in FIG. 2. Additionalwidgets can also be generated, where the widget has a basic template(shown as widget 50) that can be modified to include specificinformation about data columns associated with a particular entity. Eachwidget further includes an “Edit Rules” button that facilitates editingof data quality rules associated with the entity in a selective mannerby a user as described below.

Widgets, such as widgets 30-50 shown in FIG. 2, can be generatedaccording to a process as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3. Inparticular, entity widgets are initially defined by selecting attributes(e.g., columns) from data tables of the data obtained from a data source(step 100). For example, referring to Product Entity Widget 30, theattributes that are associated with this widget are product name, brandname, quantity and type. For the Customer Entity Widget 40, theattributes associated with this widget are name, address1 (first addressbox), address2 (second address box), and product. Patterns correspondingto the selected data attributes are then selected for an entity widget,and all the rules pertaining to the entity widget are grouped with thatwidget (step 110). The patterns can be defined manually or discovered bya context based pattern discovery method. The widgets facilitatemodification of data attributes (e.g., changing a data value for theproduct name attribute in Product Entity Widget 30 according to aneditable rule associated with this attribute and controlled by thewidget).

An example embodiment is depicted in FIG. 4 schematically showing thegeneration of Product Entity Widget 30 by application of a common orgeneric rule set 32 to data 31 from a data source. The data 31 from thedata source includes product attributes (e.g., a listing of differentproducts for a grocery store inventory). Patterns of the data aredetermined to help establish which rules for the rule set 32 are to beapplied to the widget.

In an example scenario, there may be a number of sets of rulesapplicable to data to be used by application App1 (20) of client 2 thatare obtained from the data quality rules module 14. Assume that tworules (Rule 1 and Rule 2) are applicable to the Product Name attributeof Product Entity Widget 30. These two rules are grouped with thisattribute and are accessible for selection and/or modification by thewidget (e.g., by selecting the “Edit Rules” button for this widget).

Each rule pertaining to a widget is parameterized based upon the ruleartifacts (step 120). In particular, parameters are selected for thedifferent rule artifacts, where a parameter defines an action to betaken based upon a satisfied condition of a rule artifact (e.g., if acondition is met, then a particular parameter is applied to dataassociated with the widget). The parameterization of rules by a widgetcan include the addition of a new rule, the modification of an existingrule and/or the deletion of an existing rule.

After entity widgets have been generated for a particular application,the “Edit Rules” function of a widget can be utilized to modify eachcommon set of rules to a new customized or adapted set of rules basedupon application or user specifications.

An example embodiment of operation of the system of FIG. 1, includingcustomization or adaptation of a set of rules (using an entity widgetsuch as widget 30), is now described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 5. In this process, entity widgets (such as entity widget 30, e.g.,stored in widget module 22 of client 2) have been generated according tothe process depicted in FIG. 3. A query by client 2 results in datarecords being obtained from one or more of the data sources 6, 8, 10(step 150). One or more common sets of rules from the data quality rulesmodule 14 of the data quality rules database 12 are applied to the datarecords (step 160). These common rules are the same and thus apply thesame types of modifications to the same or similar data (e.g., datawithin the same table columns or the same or similar data records)obtained from data sources 6, 8, 10 regardless of which client or whichclient application is making the query. The decision regarding whichrules to apply from the data quality rules module 14 can be determined,e.g., based upon the data attributes (e.g., different data columns fromselected data tables may be associated with one or more specific sets ofcommon rules). Application of the set(s) of common or generic rules tothe data obtained from the data sources can be performed by the dataquality rules database 12 or, alternatively, by the client 2.

One or more entity widgets are selected from the widget module 22 of theclient 2 (step 170). The “Edit Rules” feature of the widget is accessedby a user to generate adapted rules with modified artifacts applied todata during operation of a client application, such as APP1 (step 190).In other words, the “Edit Rules” feature of the widget allows a user toselectively modify the common set(s) of rules applied to the data. Thedata which has been modified based upon the adapted rules being appliedby one or more entity widgets is output by the client application (e.g.,in a graphical display) (step 200). In addition, the adapted rules canfurther be modified during operation of the application (step 210) byselecting the “Edit Rules” feature for any of the widgets by the user atany time during operation of the application. For example, if a userwishes to change the display of a particular data attribute, the “EditRules” feature of a suitable widget can be selected by the user to makesuch a change, thus allowing for changes to be made during operation ofthe client application.

An example embodiment depicting a GUI interface 35 showing the “EditRules” feature for a widget, Product Entity Widget 30, is described withreference to FIG. 6. This example embodiment shows how the rules for theQuantity attribute can be adjusted based upon client application and/oruser specifications. An example record “12OZ FIZZY CORP CHEESE CAN” isshown in which the widget modifies the data quality rules to convert thequantity unit of measure (for this particular record, the unit ofmeasure is modified from “OZ” to “OUNCES” for output or display) forthis data record and/or each data record associated with the ProductEntity Widget 30. Thus, the widget modifies the data quality rules suchthat an output or display of this record (and other selected recordshaving product quantity information) has a revised quantity value. Othermodifications can also be set or adjusted for the other attributesassociated with this type of product record (e.g., modifications to dataassociated with product name, brand name and type). In addition, otherentity widgets can be accessed to selectively edit rules associated withthe widgets. Such adjustments or modifications to the widgets canfurther be performed during operation of the client application (e.g.,applied “on the fly” or during runtime of the application).

The system of FIG. 1 is configured such that the source system or dataquality rules database 12 can provide the common set or sets ofpre-defined rules to each client (e.g., client 2 and client 4), whereeach client modifies or adapts the rules, utilizing the widgets storedwithin the widget module of the client. The rules are adapted based uponthe particular requirements of the client or the requirements of thespecified application for each client. Thus, both client 2 and client 4may receive the same common set of rules stored with the data qualityrules module 14 of database 12. However, each client may modify and thuscustomize the rules to the client's own specifications (e.g., based uponthe different requirements for the different client applications APP1 orAPP2) such that the adapted or modified set of data quality rules forclient 2 is different from the adapted or modified set of data qualityrules for client 4.

Thus, the invention embodiments facilitate modification and adaptationof a common or generic set of rules that are applied to data based upona particular application or user specification. This differs fromtypical systems in which data quality rules are applied by a sourcesystem, and to change or customize the data quality rules can be alengthy and complicated process (e.g., requiring a change in the codethat applies the rules). In the present invention embodiments, acommon/generic set of rules are applied to data obtained from datasources (e.g., at the data quality rules database and/or by a particularclient), while modifications to the data quality rules can be performedindividually by a particular client using one or more widgets. Thewidgets can include all information for a particular entity, includingmetadata for data associated with the entity, the common set or sets ofrules to be applied to data associated with the entity, andcustomization features for such rules. Entity widgets can be generatedby determination of data patterns and rules associated with data inpatterns.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments described above andillustrated in the drawings represent only a few of the many ways ofimplementing embodiments for adapting data quality rules to be appliedto data based upon the requirements of an application and/or userspecifications or preferences.

The topology or environment of the present invention embodiments mayinclude any number of computer or other processing systems (e.g., clientor end-user systems, server systems, etc.) and databases or otherrepositories arranged in any desired fashion, where the presentinvention embodiments may be applied to any desired type of computingenvironment (e.g., cloud computing, client-server, network computing,mainframe, stand-alone systems, etc.). The computer or other processingsystems employed by the present invention embodiments may be implementedby any number of any personal or other type of computer or processingsystem (e.g., IBM-compatible, laptop, PDA, mobile devices, etc.), andmay include any commercially available operating system and anycommercially available or custom software (e.g., browser software,communications software, server software, cleansing and data qualityanalysis software, etc.). These systems may include any types ofmonitors and input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, voice recognition,etc.) to enter and/or view information.

It is to be understood that the software (e.g., the data mart, gapreport module, rule template module, instantiated rule module, etc.) ofthe present invention embodiments may be implemented in any desiredcomputer language and could be developed by one of ordinary skill in thecomputer arts based on the functional descriptions contained in thespecification and flow charts illustrated in the drawings. Further, anyreferences herein of software performing various functions generallyrefer to computer systems or processors performing those functions undersoftware control. The computer systems of the present inventionembodiments may alternatively be implemented by any type of hardwareand/or other processing circuitry.

The various functions of the computer or other processing systems may bedistributed in any manner among any number of software and/or hardwaremodules or units, processing or computer systems and/or circuitry, wherethe computer or processing systems may be disposed locally or remotelyof each other and communicate via any suitable communications medium(e.g., LAN, WAN, Intranet, Internet, hardwire, modem connection,wireless, etc.). For example, the functions of the present inventionembodiments may be distributed in any manner among the variousend-user/client and server systems, and/or any other intermediaryprocessing devices. The software and/or algorithms described above andillustrated in the flow diagrams may be modified in any manner thataccomplishes the functions described herein. In addition, the functionsin the flow diagrams or description may be performed in any order thataccomplishes a desired operation.

The software of the present invention embodiments may be available on arecordable medium (e.g., magnetic or optical mediums, magneto-opticmediums, floppy diskettes, CD-ROM, DVD, memory devices, etc.) for use onstand-alone systems or systems connected by a network or othercommunications medium.

The communication network may be implemented by any number of any typeof communications network (e.g., LAN, WAN, Internet, Intranet, VPN,etc.). The computer or other processing systems of the present inventionembodiments may include any conventional or other communications devicesto communicate over the network via any conventional or other protocols.The computer or other processing systems may utilize any type ofconnection (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) for access to the network.Local communication media may be implemented by any suitablecommunication media (e.g., local area network (LAN), hardwire, wirelesslink, Intranet, etc.).

The system may employ any number of any conventional or other databases,data stores or storage structures (e.g., files, databases, datastructures, data or other repositories, etc.) to store information. Thedatabase structures may be implemented by any number of any conventionalor other databases, data stores or storage structures (e.g., files,databases, data structures, data or other repositories, etc.) to storeinformation. The databases and/or other storage structures may be remotefrom or local to the computer or other processing systems, and may storeany desired data.

Present invention embodiments may be utilized for analyzing the data ofany types (e.g., boolean, character, alphanumeric, symbols, etc.)representing any information. Further, present invention embodiments maybe utilized for analyzing data from any types of storage units, systemsor devices (e.g., databases, files, memory devices, data structures,processing devices, various types of stationary or mobile computer orprocessing systems or devices, etc.). The data analyzed from one or moredata sets may be of any size, and include any type of data and metadata.

The present invention embodiments may employ any number of any type ofuser interface (e.g., Graphical User Interface (GUI), command-line,prompt, etc.) for obtaining or providing information (e.g., obtaininginformation for the desired analysis to be performed, providing chartsor other data visualizations, etc.), where the interface may include anyinformation arranged in any fashion. The interface may include anynumber of any types of input or actuation mechanisms (e.g., buttons,icons, fields, boxes, links, etc.) disposed at any locations toenter/display information and initiate desired actions via any suitableinput devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, etc.). The interface screens mayinclude any suitable actuators (e.g., links, tabs, etc.) to navigatebetween the screens in any fashion.

The present invention embodiments are not limited to the specific tasksor algorithms described above, but may be utilized for analyzing andgenerating visualizations of data from any data source for any type ofprocess.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”,“comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “has”, “have”, “having”, “with”and the like, when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method of applying dataquality rules to a data set obtained from at least one data source,comprising: querying data from the at least one data source; retrievingdata from the at least one data source along with a common set of rulesconfigured to format and output the retrieved data in a manner inaccordance with one or more predefined data quality rules of the commonset of rules; selecting at least one editable widget from a widgetmodule of a client; modifying the common set of rules using the at leastone editable widget in accordance with a specified application of theclient during operation of the specified application to form a modifiedset of data quality rules such that an output of an element of thereceived data has a revised form with respect to output in accordancewith the common set of rules, wherein the modification of the one ormore predefined data quality rules is specific to a specifiedapplication, and the editable widget includes one or more controlelements to facilitate adapting the common set of rules to be applied tothe received data in accordance with an application of the client;applying the modified set of data quality rules to the retrieved datasuch that the retrieved data is output in accordance with the modifiedset of data quality rules by the specified application; and generating awidget by selecting attributes from data tables of the at least one datasource and grouping the selected attributes with the widget, whereineach editable widget comprises a first graphical user interface listingattributes associated with the widget and at least one additionalgraphical user interface comprising at least one editable field thatfacilitates modification of a predefined data quality rule.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein each widget is associated with an entity thatdefines a category of data records, and the modified set of data qualityrules is applied to records or columns of the retrieved data.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: editing the modified set of dataquality rules for at least one widget during operation of the specifiedapplication.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each editable widgetfacilitates modification of a predefined data quality rule applied toone attribute associated with the widget separately from anotherattribute associated with the widget.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe common set of rules is provided to a first client and a secondclient, the first client adjusts at least one predefined data qualityrule utilizing a first editable widget to form a first modified set ofdata quality rules, and the second client adjusts at least onepredefined data quality rule utilizing a second editable widget to forma second modified set of data quality rules that differs from the firstmodified set of data quality rules.